There are many honourable
black figures in our history, from people who paved the way during the
Civil Rights Movement to those who have led countries and continents. In this
post I want to resurface those who have made a huge impact in the
scientific field. Why science? Because I have a Chemistry degree and hardly
talk science... and I do slyly miss it.
Whilst doing my research, one
lady that stuck out to me was Patricia Bath. This remarkable woman was born in
1942 in New York and graduated early from high school. She then went onto study
Chemistry at New York's Hunter College, before gaining a doctoral degree from
Howard University College of Medicine. That’s all good and well but why did she
stand out to me so much? Because she was a first kind of lady:
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| Image source: Google |
- First black person to reside in ophthalmology at New York University,
- First African American woman to serve as a surgeon at UCLA Medical Centre,
- First to ever receive a medical patent for her invention ‘Laserphaco
Probe’, used for
- Founder of American institute for the Prevention of Blindness
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| Image source: Google |
Patricia Bath’s resilience and
passion for helping others led her to accomplish great things, even in the midst
of sexism, racism and poverty. She had no black role models in the industry she
wanted to go into, let alone women. Being a physician was a very male dominated
role. In addition at that time there were no high schools in Harlem and black
people were mostly excluded from many medical school and societies. Yet Dr Bath
didn’t let that stop her, and her parents were her number one supporters.
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| Image source: Google |
I encourage you, especially as we
in the UK are still celebrating Black History Month, to find out about someone
new. Find someone in your areas of interest and share with others. We all need
to learn a bit more.
Natalie | @Pursueinspire
Post sources:
- http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/black-history-month-2014-five-black-chemists-who-changed-world-honoured-1435102
- https://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_26.html
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